Canceling a transaction

Occasionally, you may need to cancel a transaction, for instance, if the item is broken or you made a mistake when listing the item.

If you've sold an item but can't complete the sale, you may be able to cancel the transaction in My eBay.

Cancel a transaction

When you need to cancel a transaction, it's generally a good practice to first contact your buyer to let the buyer know you're canceling the transaction and why.

You can cancel a transaction:

Up to 30 days after the sale.

Even if your buyer has already paid for the item.

You won't be able to cancel a transaction if:

You've shipped the item.

The buyer has already opened a request because they didn't receive the item.

You have already opened an unpaid item case.

If there were multiple items in the purchase, you can only cancel the entire transaction, not individual items from the order.

To cancel a transaction

Go to My eBay > Sold and locate the item.

In the More actions drop-down menu, select Cancel this order.

Choose a reason for the cancellation and follow the on-screen instructions.

We let the buyer know that you've canceled the transaction. If the buyer has already paid for the item, refund the buyer.

Respond to a cancellation request from a buyer

A buyer can request to cancel a transaction within 1 hour of purchasing the item, even if they've already paid for the item.

When a buyer asks to cancel a transaction, you have 3 business days to approve or decline the request.

If you approve the cancellation request and the buyer has already paid for the item, you have 10 business days to refund the buyer.

If your buyer cancels a purchase, the buyer can't leave you negative or neutral Feedback or low detailed seller ratings about the transaction.

Refund the buyer

Once you've cancelled a transaction, it's time to refund the buyer.

If the buyer paid with PayPal:

The buyer's PayPal account is automatically refunded. We then either ask PayPal to remove the refund amount from your PayPal account, place the amount on your seller invoice or charge your payment method on file. Learn more about reimbursement.

Once the buyer has been refunded, we consider the cancellation to be complete.

If the buyer paid with a method other than PayPal:

You have 10 business days to refund the buyer's original payment method.

Once you issue the refund, we ask the buyer to let us know that they received it.

We consider the cancellation to be complete when:

The buyer confirms they received the refund.

The buyer doesn't respond to our request to confirm receipt of the refund after 10 business days.

If you approve the cancellation in My eBay but don't refund the buyer within 10 business days, the cancellation request is closed as unsuccessful.

If you haven't issued the refund within 10 business days, the buyer can open an eBay Money Back Guarantee request for an item that wasn't received. If you shipped the item, the buyer can open a return request. Learn more about the eBay Money Back Guarantee.

Receive a final value fee credit

The cancellation must be complete for you to receive a final value fee credit. To receive a final value fee credit, the cancellation request is complete when:

The buyer's PayPal account is refunded, if the buyer paid with PayPal.

The buyer confirms they received their refund, if the buyer paid with a method other than PayPal.

When the cancellation is complete, we credit the final value fee to your account 7 to 10 days after the cancellation request is complete. Learn more about requesting a final value fee credit.

Timelines

If you haven't shipped the item, you can cancel the transaction up to 30 days after the buyer has completed the sale.

A buyer can ask to cancel a transaction within 1 hour of purchasing the item, even if they've already paid for it.

If a buyer requests to cancel the transaction, you have 3 business days to approve or decline the request.

If the buyer paid with a method other than PayPal, you have 10 business days to refund their original payment method once you cancel the transaction or once you've approved a buyer's cancellation request.

Things to keep in mind

If you cancel a transaction, the buyer may be disappointed or feel that you didn't honour your side of the bargain. Keep in mind that:

If you cancel a transaction, it may be considered a defect and count against your seller performance. Learn more about seller performance standards.

If you cancel a transaction, the buyer can still leave you negative or neutral Feedback about the transaction.

When you list an item, you enter into a legally binding contract to complete the transaction if the item is sold. If you cancel the transaction, there could be other negative ramifications. See the eBay User Agreement.

Once the cancellation is complete, you can't ask us to step in and help with the transaction, and you can't reopen the cancellation request.

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